00:25 - KarlabosMost videos are all about just adding random images to the song though, so...

00:22 - KarlabosSome videos aren't bad. But an ok video is not a good video. A good video would be something that adds to the song. In a way after you've seen it you can't help but to feel only listening to the song isn't enough anymore

23:53 - ApothecaryI mean welcome to artists trying to be theatrical lol there's always going to be some degree of cheese in music videos, even if it's .0001% cheese

2011 should be marked down as the year of the debuts. Holy hell has there been a landslide of excellent fresh ones put out this year; TOAD, Death Valley Driver, Enthring, Smohalla, Sacred Ally, and Spellbound Dazzle are some great examples. Oh, that list is exclusively stuff I've personally reviewed, there's been dozens upon dozens that have shown their face around Metal Storm over the past year, reviewed and highlighted by other staff & elites.

Well, looks like The Fallen Divine have strutted into the party just in time (nonchalantly elbowing a few of the previously mentioned bands out of the way on their way in.) What makes The Binding Cycle possibly one of the best debut albums of the year is how flexible and versatile it is, while being an incredibly smooth ride. They managed to write & record in this nifty crossroad where melodeath, prog, and black metal meet. So what are we talking about here? Black metal with prog influences? Melodeath with black metal influences? Neither, it's just a well balanced amalgamation. There's a few transitional finger-breaking prog moments tying a riff-based melodeath band to a soaring, epic black metal band. It's like a giant bald eagle with beefy arms clutching an M-60, who goes home and listens to Enslaved after a wholesome day of majestically destroying everything.

There's a few aspects that escape notice amongst all the other crazy shit happening that are worth mentioning; a few tastefully added keyboard bits throughout (although seldom very prevalent), and a couple of those "hold on bro, need to catch your breath? Here's a spacey mellow moment to chill out to" moments. Admittedly, they really don't execute the brief, mellow passages as seamlessly as their aggressive ones, coming off as a bit incongruous. Luckily, there's rarely a moment to focus on the set backs as things seem to constantly morph into a different sound.

Best of all, The Fallen Divine take no shortcuts to make their music as memorable as it is (in other words, they don't throw in embarrassing, gimmicky bullshit.) The Binding Cycle is a meticulously well put together album by a band that really knows what they're doing.

I also just checked a song on youtube it sounds worthy enough that I want to spend 10-15 dollars on it instead of just downloading it. (I actually buy most of my albums btw in case anyone got the wrong idea from that statement)

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bluemobiusxAccount deleted

28.11.2011 - 14:24

bluemobiusxAccount deleted

I checked em out, but I don't know if I would give it a 9. They definitely have some great parts in their songs but I hear lots of room for improvement.

Just an fyi, it's not like the rating is meant to be reflective of our universal taste. It's a personal score. People should read more into the words in the review than the numbers beside it.

Hence why people like Jupitreas, Thryce, and a few others if I recall correctly stopped giving scores. I'm very much tempted to start doing this as well. I love when people comment on the actual article, not the score.

Though, with any rating topping a 9 there's going to be major disagreements. This album moved me quite a bit, people see the score and expect it to move them in the same way. Well, it won't, so I don't expect any less from a 9+ rating.

----"I got a lot of really good ideas, problem is, most of them suck."
- George Carlin

I'll have to give this a little more time because I'm not sure how I'm supposed to be judging it. At times it reminds me of Opeth (if they weren't so boring) with some cheesy melodeath moments and black metal shrieks.

Just an fyi, it's not like the rating is meant to be reflective of our universal taste. It's a personal score. People should read more into the words in the review than the numbers beside it.

Hence why people like Jupitreas, Thryce, and a few others if I recall correctly stopped giving scores. I'm very much tempted to start doing this as well. I love when people comment on the actual article, not the score.

Much agreed with this. Art is emotion. Science is numbers. Applying numbers to emotion never works. One man's food is another man's poison, and all that..

I particularly like it when reviewers include similar sounding bands or reference genres and influences. Reviews are, afterall, not a flying fook about what *he* or *she* cares about an album, but instead a written piece on whether it influences *me* to sample it out. And Doc's piece did that.